Torpedo deflecting shield



May 15, 1945- E. HEGEWALD 2,376,055

TORPEDO DEFLECTING SHIELD Filed Dee. 51, 1942 V4 'sheets-sheet 1 4 Shets-Sheet 2 NN N May l5, 1945. E. HEGEWALD I TORPEDO DEFLECTING SHIELD Filed Dec. 31, 1942 May 15, 1945'. E, HEGEWALD 2,376,055

TORPEDO DEFLECTING SHIELD May 15, 1945. E. HEGl-:wALD

TORPEDO DEFLECTING SHIELD Filed Dec. 51, 1942 4 sheets-sheet 4 INV NToR.

mnnnnonnmlicmmsienn f Ernest-Hensema,Jesycityjv; Li. l --npplianmimeer'nber 31, 1.942,1fsenemmuwss t y1 claimt. (nl. www);

- i'ihis'invenvionf.pelotes izo-new and usewfuiim? movements-in torpedo'defiecting shiel'ds'for ships,

'and 'vhasfjforrits principal 'object Ithe provision :of Ja noveles'liiel'd ywhich Will-'form lan effective jprotece iio for-theifulllength of theship, including'the for 'a-rcln aft sections, andfwillprovide 'such protec iony by nov'elfnieans 'which 'cause the Vtorpedo to gieeated completely*A under thel shfipand vithon-tfcausing such torpedo to explode;

vtio tomav ship*havefbeenfrequeritly suggested as eik-blden sa-fe 'distance fr zn",theship.- Just what isy a -sae distancehasnever been' definitely deti'have ffallen far short -the `mnectaii-ons- 'of the'irjci'eators." These devices havefor the most part, been open; 'toe three general objections. Firsiihyfarlsqicumbersome'as,to greatlvredu the Speed of4 the-ship; thus actually making the 'shfip bettertarge'tfor the Atorpedo than it Awould -bje norm `peed were preserved Second, the* helols'iig-or nets n which have actually `been tie lhave been-*improperly braced, and inthe flrstfsiibstajintial sea, *the -Whole l'apparatusvhas beenu'rippedoff the ship.y Third,l the:` `torpedo normllyjfti'avels at such speed "as to rip through iandjcompletely `eliminates breilg merisier?furthermvvidedinfermeaf 'the "ndswhi hibracing'slements; hbwever, 4do

, not provizlev *an obstruction/Which" would engage cannot"'qui'elcly 'recover its equilibrium'. When s the depthjgoverningmechanism has had ,time "to insignes eidooesffnot aimftogstop the impede;

nbr o e plodeitfsome distance Yfrom the ship,

4artl'irfto'deflectlitjn `snchga mannerjasto es'iusefit to pass completely under the ship, without;V however; y ezcplo'd'ingfj` the n same. This 'shield y aref'downwardly'and forwardly inclined, thus proyjviding what ajn'iounts'toA av plurality of adjacent lian-nels which *lieatan Jangle 0i?k 45, more "or *lessfto'fthesideof the ship. The"torpedo'strikes oiijeofthese channels andisdeflecteddownwardcoming in contact with the detonating eleinen't 'which "isinormallyw located Iat the central 'portion l'o'fsuchnose f `(The shield v-ispreferably made lin a plurality lof, jointedsections ofjgenerally similar construction extending lover the major ,portion of ,the

vided forth'e'fforeandaftsectiona -A'Iheloa'rs are Ul, A

again v"return ythe "torpedo to fits predetermined depth vof travel, r say six or 'eight feetbelowr "the Water line,` 'the shipv hasipassed 'beyond' the range of the torpedo;

"The torpedo "shield of the present invention .is

further formed in suchia fashionv as to reduce 'to a minimum" the resistajnetoftheforward lmovement offt'heship, vand vany''reduction inthe eiective speed ofitheship is partieul'arly small 'when com;

pnieol;izothegreatsafety.,factor provided by the 'shield ofjth'e; presentinverrtion. ,"The Asecondi objection to jthegdevfices earlier proposedis also Aeliniinate'd by'fhe'fpresentshield; In .allof vsuch previousdevio'essuitable arms extended outward'- ,ly"`from theship; 'both atl the #sony and 'the lbottom of thejshield. InA the shieldv of the vpresent invenijion;`h'owever,'theQloWer endso'f the shield secf tions :are 'irmly l.seou're'i .'to brackets carried f by the''ship itslijand thus 'the lower end ofj the shield 'vihiohjniust bear 'the/greatest resistance isi: 'rnily secured -to, it Ywitholn: any transversely disposed arm.' j'Ih'e, lower end of the shieldthus beingfrigidly secureditheupper end has far, less resistance; and novel means are provided for rmjly securing such upper ends in `proper spaced relation"ticit'lzle,gslnip.I y Another object oflfthe present invention is 'the provision fof a shield of v`this character which may be.'f:uick1y, and easilydrawn to the side ofthe ship Whengsudh ship is jin port, "thus eliminating the obstruction Whichfis .most important ,in loading andunlo'ading the ship. A further object of the Vpresent invention `is kthe provision .ofy novel foreand afhshield sections, which likewise can bexreafdily .drawn adjacent to lthe side ofthe ship With-a amountofeffort;

ftlrinlvfseourd* at their oppositetenriinals, and 55 aterfan arejno't intended as working drawings,

but rather are designed primarily to show the basic principles underlying the present invention. In such drawings:

Fig. 1 represents a plan view of the shield in operative position on one side of a ship.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is an enlarged, detailed side elevation o the rear sections of the shield drawn upwardly into inoperative position adjacent to the side of the ship. y u h Fig. 4 illustrates the forward sections of the shield drawn into inoperative position; K

Fig. 5 is a broken plan view showing the overf lapping portions of the forward part of, the main side section of the shield, and the `rear portion "of.

the fore sectionin overlapping relationshipvwhen drawn into inoperative position. Fig. 6 is a broken sectional view-'of thei'main side sections of the shield. v p

Fig. 7 shows the same shield drawn intoinoperative position adjacent-to the. side of the .-ship. -Fig. 8 is a broken plan view of the .upper.brac ingelement4 connected at. its innerend with the ship, and atits outer end. withthe upper eckge of the.shie1d..`..,.. i

Fig. 9 isa brokentransverse section. taken on lined-9 of Fig. 8..

, 'Fig. 10 is a broken transverse section taken on line ID-,.I0 of Fig..8.

Fig. 11 is an end elevationofthe aft sectionpf the. shield, the view..showing .on the right-hand side. the position of -the several aft .sections in operative position, vand on the left side showing the position of such sections in inoperativeposition.

Fig l2 similarly shows4 the .forwardshieldr sec tions., W Fig.13 is abroken longitudinal section'taken on line |3-.I3 of Fig. 8.

...Fig` 14... is similar to Fig. 6,- but shows a. modification in the shield construction.

Fig. 15 is a broken section. taken on line I5-I5 of Fig. 14.

.Referring now.to.Figs.. l.and.2, .it willbe noted.

that the ship, which isv designatedbythefreferr ence numeral I0, is providedwith a. shield forming a main .Sidesection I I, three forward sections I 2,v f,I 3, and I4, respectively, and rear, sections I5 and I6, respectively. The main sidesection II may be formed as a single rigid section, orin a plurality of sub-sections, depending somewhat upon the length of the ship andupon .other.fac tors. Such section comprises a plurality. of spaced bars which are inwardly turned at their upper ends to form a' loop ZI, which is .secured by welding, or otherwise, atl22. A somewhat similar loop 24 is formed at the lower end of each bar, and is secured at 25 to the main section of the bar. A brace or strut 26 is further carried by the bar, such brace being secured by welding, o1' otherwise, to a longitudinal shaft'28, which, in turn, is journalled in spaced brackets'f29 securedvadjacent the lower edge of the side of the ship I0. The loop 2| at the upper end `of each bar is secured at 32 to another longitudinal shaft In addition to the support. afforded by upper and lower shafts 33 and 28, respectivelyythe -spaced bars are maintained insuchrelation lin-.-

termediate their ends by means o f .strutsf or braces 36 and 31, whicharewsecure'd at tlfi'eirter'- minals on the bars 20 and 4extend inwardly from the outer surface of the shield. `Attheir apices they .alle suitably secured to, longitudinal bars 3S and no y 4It wiuacccrdinglyb'seen that whether the main side section is formed in one or more individual sections, or in a single section, it is 'made up of the spaced bars, each adjacent pair of which forms a'channel which acts as a slideway for the torpedo. The several spaced bars 20 are not vertical, butrather are disposed at an angle to the vertical. The main side section is thus firmly secured pivotally at its lower end by means of brackets 29, and at its upper end the section is secured in its spaced relation 4to the ship by means' of 'a novel arm structure 42 shown in detail in Figs. 8, 9, l0 and 13.r

Each bracket arm 42 includes a generally U- shaped structure 43 formed with a cross-piece 44 .at its. outerterminal, an intermediate transverse piece ,45, and ring elements 46 at its inner terminals; These ring elements are carried on a shaft 4l whichfis journalled in brackets 48 rigidly securedl to the side of the ship at a point which may be just above or even below the normal waterline of. .the ship. Whenv in operative position-the bracket .arm.42 is in generally horizontal position, asshown inFig. 6, and .rigidly-secures the sidesection II at .its outer terminal inoperativeposition. Whenthe side section is drawnto inoperative position, asshown in Fig. 7,A a. slidable element orblock 50, having an aperture5l..which receives upper longitudinal shaft 33, moves along the bracket arm by-virtue of thefollowing arrangement.. Spaced angle elements. 52-andg53 provideslideways forblock 50, as `shown in Figs. 8 and. 9, .and,.thevertica1 portions of such. angle irons .are cut away at the opposite terminals thereof.v These terminal sections are bent to form a ring, 54 at their inner terminals which are receivedupon transverse bar 45. .Atntheir-.outer terminals, rings .51 are formedwhich are received on,.outer-transverse portion 44. A f

Block.50..is. normally .maintained in its outervroost position, shown particularly in. Fig. 8,3by means. of a pair of -curved .pawls `58 `whichare pivotally mounted at 59. on a slidableblock 6D. Block 6D is formed with opposedflanges 6I which .are received in slots 62 of the vertical portions'of angle .members k52 and .53. A spring 64 urges rpawls.. 58..towards each other. Angle members 52andf53 form a support for, pins 65.YV It will accordingly be seen that .when it is desired to releasefblock 50, block SII is moved inthe directionfof the.. ship, which movemen't causespawls 58 '.toengage pins 66, thus moving the-'pawls'outwardlyto a. point where they are out of4` engagement .with block 50, thus permitting. block -5IlY to move inwardly along the tracksaiorded by angle members 52 andy 53. Block 60 may be lmanipulatedbymeans of a shaft I0 which is journal'led forflongitudinal movement in va `plate 'll welded, orotherwise secured, between anglemembers- 52 a'rifd` 53.. .its inner end the shaft is provided witha. ring l2 which receives a line 'I3 which may beflmanually [drawn from the deckfof thea-ship.. Block may be normally retained in the posi tion.sho,wn,.in Fig.. 8..by.means of a spring 69; although.. a, more positive locking. element, rsuch, fori'nstanc'e, as a removable pin passing through the. block and vthe supporting fianges,. may be employed. i .Y

Accordingly, it .willbe seen that when .the shield II' is to be drawnlfrom operative position, as shown in Fig. .6,.to inoperativeposition along theside Vpoflthe ship, .asshown in- Fig. AN7,: line 3 is-.iirst drawn inward1y,.thus releasing pawls- 58, and the-shield. is thenmovedfto-.its .vertical position. by.V means hf. amable. 'I4 connected-at '-15' to the, bracket..arm,fwhich cable is` drawn by--some suitable source of power on the ship. It will be noted in Fig. 2 that a portion of the bars 20 in intermediate section II is inclined in-one direction, and another portion inclined in the opposite direction. These bars may, ofcourse, be substantially vertical, although it is preferred to have them inclined .downwardly and forwardly,

y as shown in the left-hand portion ofsection lII in Fig. 2. Further experiment may prove that the opposite inclination gives the best results.

Referring 'now to the forward Sections I2, I3 and I4, it will be noted in- Fig. '4 `thatse'ction I2 is also formed from bars 20 the same as section I I, such bars being connected'at ltheir ends by means of the lower and upper shafts 28 and 33, respectively, and by the intermediate, longitudinal, bracing bars 39 and 4.0. The entire section I2 is otherwise formed generally similar to section II in Vthat it is providedl with the struts or braces 26, 36, 31'and 2I, shown more clearly in Fig. 6 in respect of section II. Section I2 preferably moves independently of section II, since when these two sections are drawn to inoperative position alongside the ship, they overlap somewhat at their upper meeting terminals,

as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Section I3 is generally triangular in shape, although otherwise it may be formed in the same general manner as sections II and I2. It is hinged along one side to the forward terminal of section I2 by means of hinge element 15. Section I4 is also generally triangular in shape and is hinged at 16 to a second edge of section I3, It will thus be seen thatA when the several shield sections are in operative position lying at an outwardly-inclined angle from the side of the ship, each adjacent pair of generally vertical bars forms av slideway which deilects the torpedo, causing it to alter its path and travel under the ship.

When the shield is in inoperative position, sections I3 and I4 may occupy the position shown in Fig. 4 in order to permit the anchor to be dropped. When, however, the shield is to be moved into operative position, section I2 is released, and when it has come to its outermost position, as shown in Fig, 12, sections I3 and I4 are then moved forward and generally occupy the position shown in Fig. 2. Sections I3 and I4 are further supported by means of a load-carrying.

cable80 secured at one end to section I3, as shown in Fig. 2, and at the opposite end to the ship.

section I4, and` at its opposite end to a suitable position on the deck on the opposite side of the vessel.

Rear section I5, shown particularly in Fig. 3, is likewise formed with inclined bars 20 and the upper and lower shafts 33 and A28, respectively, and with the intermediate bracing bars 39 and 40. Section I 6 is hinged at 85 to the rear edge of section 4I5 and is formed substantially similar to sections I3 and I4, except for the shape. It is further provided with an oifset portion I1 at its rear terminal which provides protection for the rudder and propeller. Additional support is provided for rear sections I6 by-means of a cable 81 which is connected with a spar 88 extending disposed, spaced bars 96 which may be inclined at a different angle than bars 95. Suitable struts or braces 91 connect the outer bars 95 with the inner bars 96, and in this instancaagain, the struts or braces 91 are so disposed as to present no obstacle to the passage of the torpedo down the channels formed by the outer bars 95.

The several embodiments of the invention herein disclosed are generally illustrative of the invention, but are not to be taken in any limiting sense. y

What I claim is:

A torpedo shield of the character described for ships and the like, such shield comprising a plu- 40 rality of interconnected sections lying at an angle of 45, or thereabouts, to the side of the ship, and connected at their lower ends to the side of the ship adjacent the turn of the bilge thereof, bracket arms connecting the upper ends of the sections .with the ship, each section comprising a plurality of generally parallel, spacedbars inclined forwardly at their lower ends, means for retaining the bars in such spaced relation comprising a plurality of longitudinal supporting elements lying inside the plane of said spaced bars, and bracket means connecting the bars with the supporting elements, the spacing between the bars being less than the diameter of the usual torpedo, each pair of adjoining bars forming a slideway sa to deilect the torpedo below the ship.

ERNEST I-IEGEWALD.

is further formed with a plurality of inwardly 

